In today’s faced-paced world, writing as a freelancer can be confusing and difficult. Social Media has become one of the most important tools for marketing and promoting a business. One needs to know the benefits of Social Media Marketing for business. It requires time and a lot of effort to understand the platform and create effective content for it.
Below mentioned are 14 strategies that can help you as a freelancer to create the best social media content. The strategies will help you make a mark on social media and gain more clients.
-
Never Afraid to Cold-pitch
To implement this strategy, you need to follow the top players of your domain. If you are a freelance photojournalist, follow the industry leaders and pay attention to what they share.
You may get leads from them. They are also the first ones to get to know about contests and awards concerning your industry.
And never be afraid to cold-pitch your ideas to brands and businesses. Be proactive when organizations ask for suggestions.
There are many cases wherein freelancers got breakthroughs by cold-pitching ideas to organizations.
One such example is SpokenWorder’s case.
The Redditor cold-pitched ideas thrice to a BBC news editor via Twitter and got a chance to write for the broadcasting giant after her third attempt. Impressive, isn’t it?
-
Be Consistent
Social media platforms love consistency. The more consistent you are on a platform, the more it will spread your content among its user base. Bear in mind that certain platforms do not want you to be hyperactive.
For instance, Pinterest recommends its users to pin anywhere between 15-25 times a day. Anything more than the recommended level, you are shooting yourself in the foot.
If you are consistent on platforms like TikTok, you can even become a mentor for fellow freelancers.
Take the case of Alexfasulobiz.
Alex has 516k people following her on the short-form video platform. Alex makes sure she posts at least twice a day about freelancing and keeps her followers engaged.
-
Be a Conversationalist
Engage with your audience. Users follow you for a reason. They find your content useful in some way. When you regularly put out content, it is very natural for your users to engage and ask questions.
In those situations, answer their queries and pay heed to their suggestions. More importantly, create content that resonates with them. Doing so will keep your Engagement Rate in good standing.
Retake Alexfasulobiz’s case. She enabled the Q&A feature and has been answering her followers’ questions with videos.
Remember: Brands choose social media influencers/freelancers mainly based on their Engagement Rates. You may get high-value gigs from big brands if your engagement is good.
All social media platforms tend to push content pieces created upon ‘Trends.’ Now, trends differ from platform to platform.
For this example, we took two platforms — TikTok and Pinterest — for a test. The results follow.
While the #OriginStory and #WithCanvaYouCan hashtags are trending on TikTok, Pinterest pushes content about Tattoo Aftercare Tips and seven other topics.
Say you are a freelance graphic designer; you can use the #WithCanvaYouCan hashtag and draw some attention to your profile.
For the uninformed, Canva is a free online tool for graphic designers.
-
Use Automation Tools
We understand that keeping up with a posting schedule is sometimes exhausting. If you feel overwhelmed, try automation tools to schedule your posts.
There are free tools available in the market. But those come with limitations. If you choose to go for premium versions, the possibilities are enormous. These programs are incredibly customizable.
For instance, Tailwind for Pinterest allows you to schedule posts ahead of several months. Remember that you need to pin consistently on Pinterest to gain followers and traffic to your site.
Pro Tip: Some tools violate the policies of social media platforms. Using them will put you on the blacklist.
-
Pay Attention to Data
All social media platforms give users access to Analytics if they switch to a Business account. Some platforms provide a sneak peek into user data for personal accounts as well.
However, it is advisable to opt for a Business account if you want comprehensive data.
The first benefit you get out of tracking data is finding what content your followers like the most. Analytics helps you where you stand on the social media ladder.
For example, Instagram gives you post-wise insights. The Overview section will tell you the number of accounts you have reached, the number of followers you have gained, etc.
If you dig deep, you will get a detailed breakdown of each metric. If your follower count touches 100, you can learn about the locations of your followers, their age range, times when they are most active, etc.
Needless to say that these metrics will give you an edge over others while framing a content strategy.
Pro Tip: Some professional influencers bring all their data together in one place using a Power BI dashboard so that they can one simple dashboard showing all their KPIs.
-
Leverage Existing Followers
Not everyone is a member of all major social media platforms. One can have a massive following on Facebook but be a total alien to a platform like Twitter. Yes, such people exist.
If you are one among them, this tip is for you. Given that you already have a considerable following on a particular platform, you can encourage your fans to follow your other social media accounts.
Platforms like TikTok are great for doing this. TikTok provides its users with an option to give their Instagram and YouTube account links right on everyone’s profile page.
If you are just starting out, giving the links to all your social media accounts in your posts will prove highly beneficial. Since you may not know on which platform your content will get traction, it is wise to have a following on every major platform.
-
Timing is Everything
Social media platforms are a whole different animal when compared to blogs and forums. You cannot randomly put out content and expect people to see it.
You ought to have a timing strategy put in place to post content. Else, your content will get lost amid a sea of posts. Also, encourage your followers to leave comments on your video.
Because social media algorithms tend to push content that ignites conversation, you need your followers’ engagement to get more views.
The ideal times for posts differ from platform to platform. For instance, the best time to post on Facebook is 9 am to 1 pm Central Time on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
Whereas Instagram experiences the highest engagement from Monday to Tuesday at 11 am. Using a tool like Tailwind will be a wise solution for platforms like Pinterest as it schedules your posts at the most optimal times.
-
Be Authentic
Do not steal content. Just don’t. Be original even if you can’t produce enough content to keep up with other freelancers.
Being authentic will help you gain loyal TikTok followers. Note: The more loyal your fans are, the higher the chances for you to monetize them.
If you find a piece of content interesting, you can recreate it or find ways to use it appropriately.
For example, TikTok allows one to use others’ videos in two ways — Duet and Stitch. While the former is a feature that will enable users to collaborate (with and without consent), the latter allows you to add your video to another to create your take on it.
If your social media account is based on User-generated Content (UGC), make sure you credit the original creators.
-
Use New Features
Social media platforms usually push content created using the new features they have introduced. Recent examples being Pinterest’s Idea Pins and Instagram Reels.
Early adopters of these features experienced impressive traction among users.
For example, read what Natalie Ho, a Pinner, has to say about Idea Pins: “By creating Idea Pins, I have seen high engagement on Pinterest, increased impressions, and I see my content remain relevant longer.”
Similar is the story of Reels. Freelance videographers who are exploiting this feature are experiencing great exposure and growth.
Instagram has been pushing this feature heavily to fight TikTok’s monopoly in the short-form video sharing space.
Hence, it allocates a high real estate to Reels. The shareability, visibility, and discoverability of Reels are also great.
For example, Reels, aka short-form videos, appear on Explore tab, Feed, Stories, and pages dedicated to hashtags, songs and effects.
-
Follow Industry Leaders
Following your industry experts and employers will keep you updated on the opportunities.
Like and occasionally share their posts. People like those who promote their content. Whenever you share a brand’s content, you give them a chance to notice you.
If necessary, leave some valuable comments on their posts. And if the situation demands, do not shy away from pointing out their inaccuracies. While doing so, be extremely cautious. Do not come off as a dogmatic person. Be gentle and slip in your suggestion.
Remember: The idea here is to show your potential employers that you are indeed a knowledgeable person.
No one in the social media world knows which content will go viral and get tens of thousands of comments and likes. A carefully curated content may tank like anything. And a post uploaded without any forethought may get you unanticipated attention.
Your job is to share each of your works across all social media platforms. Do not overthink; just do it. While doing so, tag relevant persons to add weight to the story and ask for responses from relevant persons if necessary.
To improve brand awareness in shared social media graphics, descretely show your company’s logo on promotional drinkware or custom apparel.
Say that you have been a freelance journalist for a long time. You write about the country’s burning issues but never promote your writings on a platform like Twitter.
A budding journalist who knows how to make use of the platform can outperform you quickly. From Presidents to Ministers, everyone in the government responds to tweets these days if the stories are legit.
-
Use Pinterest
Pinterest is an underused platform that works like magic for freelance writers. For those who have not heard much about this platform, here is a quick intro. Pinterest is your visual equivalent of Google.
Some joke that it is a social media platform for introverts. Though funny, Pinterest is indeed less of a social medium and more of a visual search engine. As a matter of fact, it is the third-largest search engine in the world after Google and YouTube.
On Pinterest, you can create pins and pin them to relevant boards. Pins are the equivalents of links. They are not ephemeral. In fact, you can add a link to each of your pins.
The best part about Pinterest is that you can create an unlimited number of pins linking back to a page/article on your website/blog. And pins stay forever and drive traffic to the destination site for quite a long time, unlike other social media posts.
-
Leverage LinkedIn
Are you not a part of LinkedIn despite being a freelancer? You are doing an injustice to yourself. The benefits of using LinkedIn as a professional are plenty.
Start with ‘Completing’ your profile. Gently insert the words freelance, freelancer, and self-employed in your Profile, Experience, Endorsements, and Projects sections. LinkedIn says profiles with complete information get 40% more opportunities.
Note that recruiters tend to use keywords such as ‘Freelancers’ while looking for workers for their projects. If you are unsure how to personalize your profile, get inspiration from successful fellow freelancers and mimic their profile.
Attention: Do not copy their profile description. Ask your clients and employers to ‘recommend’ you and ‘endorse’ you for your skills.
Pro Tip: Recruiters tend to use the phrase ‘Actively Looking’ as one of their search terms while looking for freelancers. Hence, it would be prudent to add the term to your headline.
Summary
Whether you are an established freelancer or a freelancer helping with social media for ecommerce or startups, it is necessary to use this space to succeed. So start cultivating your audience base, increase your connections, keep yourself up to date with the latest trends and start attracting new clients.